


most cops are bastards

by kgmps2



Category: Never Satisfied (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, I was gonna make a 'buddy cop' joke but it's not really... a Buddy Cop fic, POV Second Person, Pre-Canon, Timeskips, idc if Rin has no canon orientation these two r wlw/mlm solidarity, this is absolutely not ship fic! she's 9 years older than he is and he's gay!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-01-23 17:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kgmps2/pseuds/kgmps2
Summary: the first time the kid walked into your office, he didn't make much of an impression. somehow, though, you become friends.





	1. good with kids

In your experience, the majority of the guard never went through the junior training program. (You know _you_ didn’t.) It’s not that the program is useless – it gets the kids used to wearing the uniform, to the general culture of the guard, to the rigorous physical exercise the job entails – but it’s seen by most as an apprenticeship for kids whose families have a history of guard membership. You’re certainly not alone in deciding the guard was right for you after you were already an adult.

You look at the paperwork in front of you. _Joseph Rothart_ , it says. Well, this certainly isn’t an exception. You’ve been reporting to the kid’s mom since you joined the guard yourself. Naturally, he’s apprenticed to her. You smile. He’s in good hands.

You meet him the next day. It’s not the first time he’s been to the station, but you can see his uniform is brand-new. He’s nervously smoothing the long sleeves of the undershirt as his mom escorts him around the building to introduce him to everyone. He’s a short kid, eager through the shyness. His familiar’s a tiny thing – it actually takes you a few seconds to notice the wide-eyed hamster perched on his shoulder.

“Congratulations, cadet,” you say as you shake his hand.

“Uh, thanks, Officer Soga…”

You laugh, sitting on the edge of your desk.

“Easy, kid. I’m not any scarier than my boss.”

You gesture to his mom, who looks about as threatening as a marshmallow. He glances disbelievingly between the two of you. He’s not the first cadet to react like that – you’re not sure what it is about you, really. Still, you can tell you haven’t completely lightened the mood.

“Hey, we match.”

You point at his earrings. This gets him to laugh, when he gets a look at yours.

“Thanks, they’re new.”

There’s not much more to say, and you exchange some more small talk with your boss before the two of them sweep out of your office.

* * *

“Aww, he’s so small!”

“Hey, little guy, what’s your name?”

“He’s so cute…”

The fast track to popularity, apparently, is to bring in a baby. You expected Seiji to start crying at all the commotion, but he’s surprisingly calm, his dark eyes wide as every guard in the room gathers around you, reaching out to squeeze his tiny feet or press their fingers against his palms.

Eventually the guards disperse, the responsibility of their work outshining the charm of your son. Soon, there’s only one other person standing seemingly transfixed: Joe Rothart, in his brand-new real uniform, staring at you like the boy in your arms is the only thing in the world.

“… Can I hold him?”

You laugh quietly. No wonder he waited until everyone else was gone – if it was everyone asking, you’d have to turn them down, but one gentle kid, barely an adult, is perfectly manageable. You nod and he steps closer, holding out his arms.

“Careful with his head,” you remind him, but he clearly knows how to hold a baby. He cradles Seiji in his arms, looking down with the most paternal expression you’ve seen on a teenager. After a couple of seconds, you think he might start crying.

“Are you all right?”

He looks up, a little embarrassed.

“Huh? Oh, I just… really love kids. I have a baby sister, but she’s seven now… her magic came in a couple months ago. I’ve got an older sister, too, and she’s married. I hope I can spend time with the kids.”

You nod, watching your son. He grasps Joe’s finger when he presses it into his palm, looking up at his face, but after a few seconds turns his head to see you. Seemingly realizing you’re not holding him, he begins to cry. Joe looks panicked as he hands him back over.

“Sorry, I –”

“It’s okay, Joe. He’s a baby.”

You hold him against your chest, gently bouncing him until he’s calm. Joe’s still standing there, looking like he wishes he could still hold him.

“Hey, uh… can I babysit him sometime? Ma’am?”

“We’ll see.”

* * *

“Officer Soga! Uh, ma’am.”

You turn around, one arm already in your coat. Joe Rothart is at the door to your office, looking more nervous than you’ve seen him in months. You smile a little indulgently, donning your jacket the rest of the way while you wait for him to continue. It’s probably a personal thing – he adjusted to talking normally about work pretty quickly, but in the new context he’s suddenly reminded that he doesn’t know you that well.

When he doesn’t say anything by the time your bag is in your hand, you nod at him expectantly.

“My oldest sister had her baby,” he says, bouncing a little. “And, um, it’s not really a _party_ , but she’s feeling well enough to stand up, and she says if anyone wants to invite friends to meet the baby, she’ll be at my mom’s house tonight, and…”

You’re a little surprised, to tell the truth. Joe’s friendly to you, of course, but he’s just a sweet person in general. (He’s still a kid, really, only twenty-one, but you don’t make a habit of referring to your coworkers as kids.) You hadn’t considered he might want to get to know you better or even already consider you a friend.

“I can go. Why are you inviting _me_ , out of curiosity?”

“Well, you’re good with kids, and really cool, and…”

You laugh.

“Just because I _have_ a kid doesn’t mean I’ll be good with _every_ kid.”

He looks so disappointed, like he’s somehow forgotten you already agreed to go, and it’s hard not to laugh. Instead, you cross the room and pat him on the shoulder.

“It’s okay, Joe. I can visit your niece, but I’ll need to pick up _my_ son, first. My neighbor is expecting me soon, and I don’t want to make a habit of keeping her waiting.”

“Oh! I can come along.”

You laugh. Normally you’d teleport, but it won’t kill anyone to take a few extra minutes. Besides, he seems eager to spend some time with you off the clock. You turn off the light, following Joe out of the guard station.

“How’s Seiji doing?” he asks, about a minute after you’ve left. You and your familiar both laugh.

“He’s… three.”

“Ha, yeah, when Yvette was three she was so loud. Well, she’s still kind of loud…”

His voice is fond, and you smile.

“So, why isn’t, uh…”

You gesture your hand, trying to remember the name of the boy you’ve seen stop by the guard station to visit Joe a few times.

“Erik? He’s… busy tonight.”

You look over sympathetically. He looks as disappointed as he sounds.

“He doesn’t like kids as much as you, does he?”

“I wouldn’t say _that_ … but I don’t think he really _gets_ how important family is to me.”

You nod.

“Well, if he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass, I’m sure you’ll find someone who values the same things you do.”

Joe makes a startled noise, laughing helplessly.

“Officer Soga!” he splutters.

“Please, Joe. If we’re talking about boy troubles, call me Rin.”

He’s still laughing when you reach your neighbor’s house.

As soon as your tired neighbor opens the door, you can hear your son running to see you. He trips over his own feet, rights himself, and keeps running until he can grab onto your leg. His eyes are shiny, like he’s on the verge of a tantrum. Or like he just threw one.

“MOM! You’re _late_. Who’s that?”

You pick him up, making an apologetic face to your neighbor. She shrugs.

“Aw, don’t you remember Joe from Mommy’s work?”

He unburies his face from your shoulder long enough to squint at Joe, then shakes his head.

“It’s okay, Seiji, I remember you!”

Joe’s got a goofy grin as he gently taps Seiji on the nose. The toddler blinks, then rests his head back on your shoulder again. As soon as your neighbor’s kid hands you Seiji’s bag, you and Joe head off.

Your son, of course, notices right away, tugging on your collar.

“You goed the wrong way.”

“ _Went_ , honey, and we’re going to visit Joe’s house for a few minutes.”

“How come?”

“Joe’s sister had a baby. Would you like to see a baby?”

“I wanna go _home_.”

You sigh, bouncing him gently on your hip.

“We won’t be long. Do you wanna walk with us or take a nap until it’s time to go home?”

“’M not sleepy.”

He’s asleep in less than a minute. Joe continues to coo quietly over him all the way to his house. It’s charming, really. Not hard to picture him as a dad – a few years from now, of course. He seems more parental than _you_ were at that age, but he’s still so young.

When you reach the Rotharts’ house, Joe’s brother-in-law opens the door. Joe happily introduces you to his family: his parents, Yvette, his older sister and her husband, and little January. Being a baby, she doesn’t do much, but Joe’s enthralled nonetheless. When her mother passes her into his arms, he holds her. From the look on his face, you’d assume she was _his_.

She yawns, squeezing her eyes tight and craning her head as much as her young neck muscles will allow, and you hear a sniffle from Joe. You glance up. Sure enough, he’s beaming down at his niece with tears in his eyes. What a softhearted guy.

There’s not much more for you here – the Rotharts (and Singhs) aren’t really your friends except for Joe and his mother. You wish everyone a good night just as Seiji starts to wake up. Once you’re out the door, you teleport home.


	2. Malliet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin meets Joe's new boyfriend.

In most ways, your new office is an upgrade. It’s closer to home, it’s private, it’s got a window. You can eat lunch in it if you’d like, looking out over the city and seeing the ocean glimmering at the horizon.

You miss the station at San Carlucco, though. It’s more… homey. You _know_ it’s because you’re familiar with everyone there, of course, but there’s something about the piazza it’s in that feels more human. Maybe it’s your imagination… the people here haven’t given you a reason to believe they’re less friendly. But everything _here_ feels _official_.

You can get used to official, you suppose. It’s not like you didn’t _want_ this promotion – you were perfectly free to turn it down. But every time you walk past someone’s office and overhear a work-related conversation, you can’t help but think of the friendly gossip you’d be overhearing at San Carlucco instead.

“Nothing keeping you away from the other office,” your familiar remarks.

You look up from your paperwork. You hadn’t said anything to prompt this – you suppose you didn’t need to.

“You’re right,” you say after a moment’s thought. “Think I should drop by tonight?”

“I’d call first.”

You laugh to yourself, rolling your eyes a little. It’s not a bad idea, of course. You decide to call after lunch.

* * *

“San Carlucco station, Joseph Rothart speaking.”

“Afternoon, Joe.”

“Oh! Madam Soga!”

“It’s all right, Joe. This isn’t work-related.”

“Uh, all right… Rin.”

You laugh, and after a moment, he does too.

“Hey, are you doing anything after work?”

“Uh, no… why?”

“I miss you guys. Mind if I pay you a visit?”

“Not at all! You’re sure this isn’t a work thing?”

“I’m sure.”

“Haha, just wanted to check! Oh! Hey! You can meet my new boyfriend?”

“You’ve got a new boyfriend?”

“Yeah, he’s really smart and caring and thoughtful and – oh! I’m sorry, am I keeping you…?”

“It’s fine, Joe, I wouldn’t have called if I couldn’t spare a few minutes. I’ll meet you once I get off work.”

Soon enough, though, _Joe_ has to get back to work. You decide to make another quick call, see if your neighbor’s okay with looking after Seiji a little longer. You wish he had more friends his age.

* * *

Joe’s new boyfriend, from what you’ve seen of his exes, is more or less what you expected. He’s a small guy – if he was taller, he’d be likened to a beanpole, but as it is he’s barely taller than Joe. The only thing you didn’t expect is the peacock following at his side. You’ve never been good at reading bird familiars’ expressions, but if you had to guess you’d say he looks languid – a marked contrast from the shy, excitable young man standing practically in Joe’s personal bubble. Even as he describes how the two of them met, he’s fidgeting with his glasses and glancing over at Joe.

The three of you are on the way to a pub. You’ve impressed on them that you can’t stay _too_ late, since you’ve got a kid who needs to be picked up. Joe assures you that he’ll remind you before six thirty. As if you need the reminder.

“So, you’re in grad school?”

You bring it up when the three of you sit down in a booth – the two boys together on one bench, you and your familiar on the other. The arrangement works out well enough for you – if you didn’t have a seat to yourself, your familiar couldn’t get scritches behind the ear.

“Oh, yes,” says Thierry, leaning forward. “I’m actually working towards a doctorate in magic studies.”

“Magic studies, huh?” You glance at Joe as you say this – he’s got an indulgent grin on his face. Either Joe’s got an interest in the subject himself, or he’s just that fond of Malliet. Maybe both.

“Yes! I’m very interested in the mechanics of magic production, and in its effect on humans and familiars...”

He trails off, looking like he had something on his mind that at the last second he thought better of saying. You don’t know him well enough to feel justified in pressing.

“That sounds like it could be very interesting, or very boring.”

That gets him to laugh.

“It can be both! It helps if you’re a little boring yourself.”

“Oh, stop,” says Joe with a giggle. “What he means to say, Rin, is he’s the kind of guy who can see the _interesting_ in places others can’t.”

That gets him to go pink. You sigh, leaning back in your seat. You’re almost jealous of the young lovers, of their easy happiness. Only almost, though – you love Seiji more than you loved his father. Much more. You glance at a timepiece – you’ve got nearly an hour before you’ll need to leave.

* * *

“Joe’s told me you got promoted recently, but what do you do outside of work, Ms. Soga?”

You shake your head.

“Please, my first name’s fine.”

“Oh, all right…”

You can’t help but laugh a little. Even though you don’t know Thierry well, you can’t shake the sense that he and Joe are just two shy little peas in a pod. You hope you manage to get Thierry out of that shell sooner or later, if he’s going to keep dating Joe. Excessive formality has always grated on you.

“Honestly, my hands are full enough looking after my son,” you say when you realize the other two are waiting for you to answer the question.

“Oh, how old is he?”

You can hear a spark of genuine interest in Thierry’s voice. You smile – Joe’s doing well for himself.

“He turned four last month.”

“So he’s a handful, huh?” says Thierry, a smile in his voice.

“If you mean ‘a pain in the ass’, then yeah.”

“Wha- _Rin_!” Joe’s gone red. “You shouldn’t say that about your kid!”

You laugh.

“I don’t _resent_ him, Joe. It’s just how he is – and it’s part of why I love him so much.”

“What do you mean?”

You take a sip of the wine sitting in front of you.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Joe, but… your parents never said anything like ‘I hope your kids are _just like you_ ’ in a lecture, did they?”

Thierry snorts.

“Uh, no. They didn’t, I mean.”

“Well, mine did. I was a pain in the ass too. At the time, I thought _joke’s on you, I’m_ never _having kids_. So I guess the joke’s on me now.”

Thierry laughs again, and this time Joe does too.

“So… what, you’re making up for it?”

“Nah, nothing like that. I guess part of it is… I’m kinda proud that he’s part of me? Or that I’m part of him, or whatever. Like… yeah, it’d be _easier_ if he was more well-behaved or agreeable, but at the end of the day… yeah, that’s my kid.”

You smile, and Joe finally nods.

“I see what you mean about being fond of him because he reminds you of yourself, but – I don’t know, are you gonna end up telling _him_ the same thing?”

“Well, I don’t want him to grow up thinking a kid like him is a _bad_ thing to be. I’d like to think I’m better at teaching him right from wrong than _that_.”

“I get it. So, what kind of stuff did _you_ get up to? I guess I sort of assumed you were… I dunno, a guard apprentice like me.”

You laugh.

“We don’t have _that_ kinda time tonight. Maybe next time. Say, how’s your niece doing?”

“Oh, January? She’s great! She can stand on her own, and say a few words, and I think she’s gonna be ready to walk soon…”

His expression softens, and Thierry pats him on the shoulder. You drain your glass, then check the time.

“Hm, I’d best be going. We should do this again sometime, though. Maybe at my place.”

You put a small pile of coins on the table as your familiar scoots off the booth, then stand up and shake Thierry’s hand.

“It was nice to meet you, Thierry. Have a nice evening.”

You like that Malliet boy, you think to yourself as you leave the pub. With any luck, he’ll do Joe some good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy Mother's Day! have a chapter.


	3. Yvette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> neither Rin nor Joe have a very high opinion of Fidelia Lapointe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just as a heads-up for in-universe misgendering: Franco Vasillia is mentioned at a point in time before he socially transitioned.

You don’t care for either of the men who live in the palatial houses on the north and south ends of the city. They both reek of politics, the kind that translates into kissing anyone’s and everyone’s ass if they think it’ll do them good. (The kind that sixteen-year-old you would want to _kick_ your ass for if she knew what your job was.)

Still, you can’t say _nothing_ good has come of being introduced to them. There are three kids between them: one’s got a boy, the other two girls. Seiji seems bored by the Vasillias – unsurprising, since the older of the two is four – but he’s absolutely taken by the Dubois kid, who’s less than a year younger than he is.

In fact, your life has become _much_ easier since the first time you told him _this is Sylas, I work with his dad. Make nice, okay?_ It used to be an ordeal making sure you weren’t even five minutes late in picking him up from a babysitter for the work day, much less any sort of extracurricular activity. Now he’ll happily spend _hours_ at the Dubois place, even when he doesn’t _have_ to.

His eagerness to stay at Sylas’ house has been a godsend these last two months. Lady Eudora (you like her much more than the rest of the people who run this city) is stepping down as representative, and the competition to replace her has meant more extra work than you’d ever anticipated. It’s finally over – there’ll be an official ceremony sometime next week, but tonight you’re at Joe Rothart’s place for a friends-and-family get-together to celebrate his baby sister winning the title.

You suppose Yvette isn’t “Joe’s baby sister” anymore, even if she _is_ only fourteen. In a few days, she’ll be _Lady_ Yvette, with a new uniform to match the title. She’s so small, though – she takes after the rest of her family you’ve seen in that regard. Babyfaced, too.

She’s darting around the room right now, talking to _everyone_. She’s excited, greeting even people she doesn’t seem to know that well with almost reckless enthusiasm. You smile, feeling a little indulgent, when she shakes your hand and buzzes that Joe’s talked about you a lot and she likes your coat and she’s so excited to work with you! And then she’s on to the next guest. You glance over at Joe himself, walking away from the snack table with a plate of tiny poppyseed muffins.

He catches you looking and nods, tilting his head to beckon you over. You grin and make your way through the other guests to say hi. There aren’t a _lot_ of people, but the room’s not really built for a crowd. By the time you reach him, he’s almost gotten to Malliet, who’s talking to Joe’s brother-in-law.

“Hey, Joe. Congratulations.”

He laughs. “Aw, you don’t need to congratulate _me_. Yvette did all the work.”

“Still, you must be proud. Evening, Thierry.”

Thierry looks briefly over from his conversation. “Oh, good evening, Rin.” He sounds distracted. Joe laughs.

“Don’t worry,” he says quietly. “Thierry’s not blowing you off. He’s just – single-minded, when he gets going. Want a muffin?”

You smile, taking one. “Thank you. And I don’t mind. That’s Fred, right?” You nod towards the wide-eyed baby on Mr. Singh’s hip.

“Yeah, he’s almost one,” says Joe. “January should be around here somewhere… I’m surprised she hasn’t broken anything yet.”

“She’s three now, right?” He nods. “Well, the night’s still young.”

This gets a laugh out of Thierry, whose conversation seems to be wrapping up, and Mr. Singh, who sighs good-naturedly. He glances down at his familiar, a large, fluffy dog, who laughs. The two of them amble off in search of the kid. You shake your head with a grin.

“How is she, by the way?”

“She’s doing great!” says Joe, perking up. “I can babysit whenever I want – well, whenever Sarah needs me to. I can’t just come up to their house and go, ‘gimme my niece!’ whenever I feel like it.” He makes a grabby hand in front of himself to illustrate, which Thierry takes as an opportunity to link arms with him. The three of you laugh. “But I still get plenty of opportunities to look after her.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She’s really… rambunctious.”

“You mentioned it was odd she hadn’t broken anything,” you say dryly.

“Well, it could’ve meant she was just clumsy. But she _loves_ to play, and roughhouse, and run around, and… well, when I was a teenager, I never got why adults said that little kids wore them out.”

You laugh, clapping him on the shoulder. “Ha! That’s how it starts, Joe. Soon we’ll all be old. So, does Thierry help out any?”

“Yeah,” says Joe good-naturedly, “whenever he’s not busy with…” He glances at Thierry, who raises his eyebrows slightly. “School stuff.”

“’School stuff’.” It sounds like a euphemism.

“I’ve gotten to the part of my doctorate where everything’s much more theoretical than I expected,” says Thierry smoothly, “and it entails a lot more _math_ than I’d prefer. Fiddly formulas. How’s _your_ son doing, by the way?”

You furrow your brow, stopping yourself before your face betrays too much obvious suspicion or annoyance. It’s a transparent deflection, and you’re curious what they’re hiding from you, but you can’t exactly press the matter right now. You tell yourself it’s quite possibly none of your business. It doesn’t do much to quell your annoyance, so you focus on the changed subject.

“Seiji?” you say as casually as you can. “Well, he’s six now.”

“I haven’t gotten to babysit him for a while,” Joe comments.

“What, your niece isn’t enough?” You laugh – you’re not annoyed anymore. “Well, you know the Dubois family, lives right underneath Cheryl?”

They both give you confused looks. “Cheryl?”

“Oh, it’s a nickname people in the neighborhood I grew up in had for the big statue at the south end of town. Linda’s the north one.”

This prompts a laugh from Thierry, and you continue. “Anyways, you probably know Ambrose – he was representative before Eudora. His brother lives in a big fancy house up on the southern hill and hosts parties with a lot of insufferable rich folk. Apparently I’m ~important~ enough that I’m invited. The bright side is that he’s got a five-year-old son.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, his name’s Sylas. He’s a sweet kid – calls me ‘Seiji’s mom’ more respectfully than half the people at work call me ‘Commissioner Soga’ – and I don’t think Seiji’s talked about anything _else_ since meeting him.”

Joe beams. “Aw, that’s cute! Maybe I can look after the both of them sometime?”

You laugh. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Sylas is sweet on his own, but I’ve seen how they egg each other on.”

Joe’s about to protest, but it’s at that moment that Yvette bounces up to the three of you, carrying January piggyback.

“Hey, Joe! Hi, Thierry!” she says.

January cheerfully repeats after her: “Hi Joe! Hi Terry!” She’s got some sort of pastry crushed in her fist, dropping crumbs into Yvette’s hair when she waves. Yvette doesn’t seem to care – she just lets January down so she can hug her brother and Thierry in turn. Joe bends down to scoop January up, lest she wander off again.

“So, how do you feel, Lady Yvette?” asks Thierry, putting teasing emphasis on the title. She laughs, shoving him in the arm.

“Haha, just call me Yvette! All the ~Lady~ stuff sounds so _weird_.”

You shrug, grinning along with everyone else. “You get used to it.”

She looks up at you thoughtfully, then shakes her head. “I dunno, I don’t think it’ll feel normal for adults to call me ‘Lady’ and not ‘young lady’ until _I’m_ an adult. And – wow, I keep thinking about how _much_ I’m gonna have to do now. It’s… exciting, really! I thought I’d be more scared, but…”

She spreads her hands.

“You can probably talk about that with Eudora,” you mention.

“Hey, yeah! I’m gonna start training with her on Monday. And I’m gonna meet with Magister Lapointe, too, and…”

You frown, not sure what to say. You’ve spent more time with Lapointe than you’d like to have, but there’s really no polite way to bring that up. You don’t want to rain on Yvette’s parade, anyway. She’ll get disillusioned with the magister soon enough.

You decide to excuse yourself – you “need to pick up Seiji” – before you end up ruining the mood. You bid a coolly polite goodnight to Joe and Thierry and wish Yvette good luck.

* * *

You’re catching up on paperwork when your phone rings. You groan. Calls you’re not expecting only ever come from Lapointe. You weigh your options for a second – it’s only barely not worth it to pretend you were out of the office and missed her call. Reluctantly, you pick it up.

“Rin Soga speaking.”

“Hey, Rin?” It’s Joe’s voice on the other end of the line, and you feel much better immediately.

“How can I help you?”

“I… you’ve spent time with Magister Lapointe, right? Outside of work?”

He sounds like he’s trying too hard to be conversational, but he’s clearly nervous. Not that you can blame him. Sharing a look with your familiar, you lock your office door with a spell.

“Yes, I have,” you say once you hear it click. “Why do you ask?”

“… It’s about Yvette.” He sounds reluctant. “I… listen, I’m at work right now, and maybe this should wait…”

“Are you busy?” you say immediately.

“What?”

“Is there anything you’re doing at work that needs to be done _now_? Because I can ‘need your help with something’ right now, if you want. Hell, I can swing by myself to pick you up.”

He pauses, just for a second. “Would you?”

You make eye contact with your familiar again. “I’ll be there in two.”

It’s a simple matter to get all your things in order. You don’t even bother to finish the form you were filling out – it’s waited this long; it can wait until tomorrow. It’s an even simpler matter to teleport to the San Carlucco station, wearing the _I’m very busy and important_ look that seems to naturally come to you and keep people out of your way. You walk up to Joe’s office and find he’s waiting at the door for you.

“C’mon,” you say gently. The two of you sweep wordlessly out of the station.

It takes a few minutes, but Joe eventually speaks up. “So, uh… ever since Yvette became representative, she’s been really busy. She’s got special training with Lady Eudora about the unique representative duties, but that was quick enough. And she’s been handling the _actual_ representative duties, too, but…”

“You wanted to know more about Magister Lapointe,” you prompt.

He nods. “Yeah, it seems like she’s been eating up all of Yvette’s time. I… I don’t know. Yvette seems really taken with her, talking about how nice and funny and cool she is, but there’s just… a feeling, I guess, that I’ve got in the back of my head.”

“I know what you mean. Seiji got his magic recently, about the same time Sylas did. We had a little party, but I figured we could wait on finding him an apprenticeship. I mean, he’s not even _ten_. But… well, apparently Lapointe’s been working with the Dubois family for years, and Sylas started an apprenticeship with her. And Seiji…”

You groan, running your fingers through your bangs.

“Seiji thought it wasn’t _fair_ that Sylas got to start magic lessons and he didn’t. _He_ wanted to have magic lessons with Sylas. I’ve never been fond of the woman, so I said no. I’ve never seen him so upset before – you’d think that I said he could never play with Sylas again. He cried, he yelled, he begged. And I think… well, I think if Lapointe herself hadn’t found out that Seiji wanted to study magic under her, I could have explained it to him. But she did, and _she_ thought it was an _excellent_ idea. And of course, once _she_ was the one asking me why not, I couldn’t risk telling her no.”

Joe pats your arm. “I’m sorry, Rin. What… what should I do?”

You spread your hands helplessly. “I don’t even know what _I_ should do. I mean, I’ve _seen_ how he is after her lessons. He thinks she’s funny, too.”

Joe nods. “I… see, this is gonna sound weird. But the thing that bothers me the most is how _close_ she seems to think she is to her.”

You nod. “I don’t think it’s weird. Seiji has a little of it, too. And I don’t know how to… make him understand that she’s not doing him a favor.”

“She calls her _Fidelia_ , and…” He shifts uncomfortably. “Sometimes it seems like she treats their meetings like _dates_.”

You feel your breath catch in your throat.

“I think… all we can really do for them, right now, is to be there for them. No matter what Lapointe does, _you’re_ still Yvette’s brother. She’s known you her whole life, and you’re a good person. Lapointe might be acting nice _now_ , but… I know how nasty she can be. When Yvette realizes it, what she’s gonna need most of all is someone who really is nice. Someone who loves her.”

“… Thanks.”

* * *

It’s been three weeks since anyone has seen Yvette. You know what it looks like. Joe knows what it looks like. Thierry knows what it looks like.

It’s not like none of you are willing to say it. You’re not dumb. But none of you are quite willing to give up, either.

“I just wish I knew… what she was doing,” murmurs Joe. “I wish I noticed sooner. I wish…”

He trails off. Thierry squeezes him around the shoulder, nodding gently.

“What happens now?” he asks, looking up at you while patting Joe’s back.

You sigh. “Normally, there’d be another competition held for a new representative, but normally representative terms end more… well, predictably. The worst case, as far as I know, is sometimes a representative will be injured. I can’t think of anything like _this_ happening before.”

Thierry looks at you, waiting for you to continue.

“Eudora’s volunteered to step back into the office, for now. There’ll probably be a competition soon, once it’s been long enough that people won’t write letters to the paper about how irresponsible it is to put children into the job.”

You roll your eyes and take a sip of wine. Thierry makes a face.

“I mean… what does the guard do, now?”

Joe sighs. “We get back to work. The missing person posters stay up, if we find a new lead we can pursue it, but… it’s not very likely, at this point.”

You nod glumly. It’s been a pretty shitty three weeks.

After about a minute, Joe speaks up again. “The worst part of all this is… I _know_ it’s Lapointe’s fault. I don’t know what she _did_ , but…”

He chokes up. He keeps going. “I’d still have my baby sister if it weren’t for that woman. I can’t ever forget that. Even if she’s okay somewhere, even if we find her… she could have _killed_ her, and she doesn’t even _care_.”

You glance towards the door, thinking about your son sleeping down the hall. You don’t _think_ he’s in the same kind of danger, but you shudder nonetheless.

There’s not much more to say as your wine bottle is slowly depleted between the three of you. Eventually it’s time for Joe and Thierry to leave.

“Well,” says Joe quietly as you’re showing them the door, “see you at work, Rin.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by [Joe babysitting Seiji](https://twitter.com/cornhime/status/1046864725311725572) (whose bedtime is apparently after eight) and by [Joe having a soft spot for babies](https://twitter.com/cornhime/status/944324144715485190)! as with all my fic, this is gonna be as canon-compliant as I can make it, although I am sprinkling in a few of my headcanons which hopefully won't be contradicted before the story's done!


End file.
